Apparatus fob



J. D. BELTON. APPARATUS ron TREATING r000 MATERIAL. APPLICATION FILED AUG.20. I917.

I 1,307,075. Patented June 17, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEE T 1.

F/GJ.

INVENTOR J. D. BELTON. APPARATUS FOR TREATING FOOD MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20. I91?- I 1,307,075.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Patented June 17, 1919.

INVENTOR da/i/rfifla fm w I sW M/M. Wm I I ATTORNEY JOHN-D. BELTON, OF CROWLEY, LOUISIANA.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FOOD MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11119 17 1919,

Application filed August 20, 1917. Serial No. 187,297.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. BELTON, a citizen of the United States, residin at Crowley, in the parish of Acadia and tate of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treating Food Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to the preparation of food, and has for an object to provide an apparatus for treating fibrous material such as straw, whereby it is 'converted into a non-fibrous pulverulent condition without the loss of its nutritive qualities, thereby permitting its admixture in varying proportions with other food materials.

In addition to the foregoing my invention comprehends improvements in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts to be hereinafter more fully described and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which similar and corresponding parts are designated by the same characters of reference throughout the several views in whlch they appear:

Figure 1, 1s a view in longitudinal section taken through an assemblage of elements for carrying out my process.

Fig. 2, is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of the preceding figure, and

Fig. 3, is a fragmentaryview in longitudinal section illustrating a modified form arrangement.

"The primary object of my invention is to utilize certain fibrous materials such as rice straw for cattle food. Heretofore rice straw, as well as other straws which contain small quantities of nutriment have been considered waste material and destroyed,- the coarse fibrous nature of the material precluding its use as food even when comminuted by any available means such as feed choppers. rice straw is deprived of its fibrous nature and is converted into a pulverulent condition resembling meal, thereby permitting its admixture in any desired proportion with other foods, the process rendering the straw more digestible and palatable.

I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings an apparatus which may be utilized to carry out my process. The apparatus includes a furnace structure indicated rial may According to my process and at their other ends with a vertical flue or chimney 20. The side walls of the furnace structure are similarly formed with longitudinally extending flues 21 also communicating at their ends with the firebo and chimney 20.

A frame 22 is mounted within the compartment 18 and supports at each end a shaft, said shafts being indicated at 23. The shafts are extended transversely of the furnace and one shaft is extended to a point exteriorl of the furnace to support a pulley 24 where y the shafts may be driven. Each shaft carries a pair of sprockets 25, and corresponding sprockets of each shaft are connected by endless chains .26 between which a plurality of plates 27 are su ported. The plates are connected together or relative movement and" are perforated as at 28.

An endless conveyer is thus provided having horizontal upper and lower stretches formed of erforated plates, whereby matee supported upon the u per stretch and conveyed from one end 0 the e a fire box 17 and a food heating structure to the other when the conveyer is.

actuated. An openingis formed in the top wail of the furnace structure adjacent one end to receive a hopper 29 which is adapted to direct material fed thereto upon the upper stretch of the conveyer. upon the furnace structure is a conventional type of feed cutter indicated at 30 with its outlet over the, hopper 29. This cutter should reduce fibrous material such as rice straw to short lengths of about one inch.

An opening 31 is formed in the end wall 15 of the furnace or at the end opposite that supporting the hopper 29. An attrition mill indicated generally at 32. is mounted adjacent said opening and a hopper inlet for said machine is PIOJQCtGd into the opening 31 so a; to receive material from the end of the conveyer. The feed chopper and attrition mill may be driven in any suitable manner. An exhaust fan casing 34 is Mounted mounted on the furnace structure with an inlet 35 in communication with the interior of the furnace structure as at 36.

In carrying out my process the fibrous food material is first fed into the feed cutter 30 and after passing therethrough the comminuted material is deposited upon the upper stretch of the conveyer. The conveyer is slowly actuated, and during the passage of the material from one end of the furnace structure to the other it is dried and parched. By maintaining the temperature of the furnace above 212 F., but below a temperature suflicient to carbonize the material I have found that the fibrous character of the material is completely destroyed. I do not wish to confine my process to any stated temperature, as it is obvious that the temperature required may vary depending upon the nature of the material treated. The degree of heat employed Whatever it may be should be suflicient to expel the water from the material and parch or toast the same without carbonizing the material or depriving it of any of its nutritive value. The material, after being parched is'then deposited at the end of the conveyer into'the attrition mill 32 which is now enabled to reduce the parched material into a condition resembling meal. Any type of attrition null capable of finely grinding material will be sufficient for this purpose, and'hence no par ticular type of mill has been shown in detail.

The heat for drying the material is supplied by fuel burning in the fire box 17, the

products of combustion being conveyed through the flues l9 and 21 to the chimney 20, thoroughly heating the walls of the furnace structure. During the operation of the apparatus the fan 35 may be operated so as to create a light current of air through the interior of the furnace structure, exhausting to the atmosphere through the fan whereby very light particles of dust will be removed thereby subjecting the material to a cleaning The current of air will also serve to prevent an undue rise of temperature within the furnace structure thereby preventing carbonization or spontaneous com- .bustion of the material.

During the heating rocess all vermin and other organismswill be destroyed. However, it may be desirable to further sterilize the material and to that end the material, after leaving the attrition mill 32 may be treated by means of gaseous or liquid antiseptics to further destroy any 'vestige of harmful organisms.

I have illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings a slightly modified form of my invent-ion in which the heating system shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is eliminated and a plurality of coils of pipes 37 substituted. These coils are located beneath each stretch of the conveyer and steam may be circulated therehighly nutritious food for cattle or other stock. Rice straw in a sun dried condition contains six per cent. of protein, and after the straw is treated by my process the water is removed so that the total percentage of protein in the product 'is correspondingly increased. My process therefore, not only renders the material more digestible but also increases its .food value.

Having thusdescribed my invention what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Apparatusfor treating edible fibrous material to produce meal, the same consisting of a chamber having an inlet at one-end and an outlet at the opposite end, means at'the inlet end for comminuting the fibrous material, a conveyer within the chamber for receiving the material and moving it through the chamber in a thinly divided state, means for heating the chamber to des- I iccate and parch the material, means connected with the chamber for carrying off the moisture and chaff and creating a circulation of air, and a mill at the outlet for reducing the dried and parched material to pulverulent form.

2. Apparatus for treating edible fibrous material to produce meal, the same consisting of a chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the opposite end, means at the inlet end for comminuting the fibrous material, an endless conveyer within the chamber and comprising endless chains and perforated plates supported by said chains, means for heating the chamber to desiccate and parch the material, means connected with the chamber for carrying off the moisture and chaff and creating a circulation of air, and a mill at the outlet for reducing the dried and parched material to pulverulent form. In'testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

. 1 JOHN D. BELTON. 

